The uncertain economic environment notwithstanding, car sales registered a smart growth in November allaying industry concerns of an impending slowdown in the sector. Barring Maruti Suzuki, companies such as Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra clocked double digit growth in November on the back of new launches and marketing initiatives.

Two-wheeler sales, too, continued robust sales growth led by industry leaders Hero MotoCorp. However, the highlight in the sector was Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India pipping TVS Motor to become the third largest two-wheeler.

However, the country?s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki continued to see its sales decline. In November the company sold 82,870 units in the domestic market down 19% from 1.02 lakh units in the corresponding month last year.

The company attributed lower sales to the high interest rates and poor economic indicators. ?Market conditions continue to be very sluggish. Higher interest rates are holding back entry level customers,? said managing executive officer (sales & marketing) Mayank Pareek. He, however, said that the company was seeing a better sales growth from the rural markets.

On the back of its newly launched small car Eon, South Korean subsidiary firm Hyundai Motor India registered a 11% growth in sales during the month to 35,000 units compared to 31,540 units in November 2010. ?In a challenging market we have been able to grow volumes and market share on the strength of our new launches ? Verna and Eon,? said director (sales & marketing) of the company Arvind Saxena. He, however, warned that the outlook for the market ?is not too bright as interest rates and fuel prices are unlikely to soften in the foreseeable future.?

The biggest surprise was from Tata Motors which has consistently seen its sales decline over the last several months. In November the company?s domestic sales increased a whopping 80% to 27,737 units against 15,340 units last year.

Though base effect of low sales last year helped the company?s sales growth this month, some marquee Tata brands like Nano and Indica sold 6,401 units and 10,926 units.

Utility major M&M continued its growth momentum in the market during the month. In November the company?s sales jumped over 44% to 17,813 units compared to 12,323 units in the same month last year. The higher sales was primarily on account of the Verito and the newly launched XUV 500 which has helped create a lot of excitement in the car market.

Leading Japanese original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) Toyota and Honda scripted two different tales in November. While Toyota?s sales more than doubled in November to 13,956 units compared to 5,242 units Honda?s sales declined almost 50% to just 1,982 units. The company had sold 3,775 units in the corresponding month last year. The poor sales for Honda was on account of the floods that ravaged Thailand which deeply hurt the company?s production owing to mainly shortage of critical components.

Every major two-wheeler company reported double digit growth for the month. Hero MotoCorp registered its highest ever November sales of 5.36 lakh units ? a growth of 27.3% from 4.21 lakh units last year. ?We have been maintaining five-lakh-plus sales since August 2011, when we had launched our new brand identity. This 27% growth in the post-festive month is significant as it comes after our record retail sales in the month of October,? Hero MotoCorp senior vice-president (marketing and sales) Anil Dua said.

Chennai-based TVS Motor Company saw its sales grow 12% to 1.72 lakh units in November 2011 against 1.53 lakh units in November 2010. Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India sold 1.98 lakh units in November to become the third largest two-wheeler company in India for the month.